King Hall (Forever Evermore 1)

King Kincaid’s nostrils flared. I knew he was scenting for deception, so I stated bluntly before Ezra lied, “He was silvered earlier.” Make your own assumptions from that. It was supposed to take a toll on the body. Therefore, it might make him thirsty. I hoped that angle worked for our sakes, so we didn’t have to say he just enjoyed my flavor and wanted a nip.

“Hmm.” King Venclaire’s eyes hooded as they danced back and forth between us.

“Well,” King Kincaid adjusted his suit jacket, “that is true.”

King Venclaire nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“I’m going home. I have business I need to attend to,” King Kincaid stated. “Lily, I’ll see you there, since you need another shirt.” He leaned in through the window and kissed my forehead, whispering against my skin, which was useless because they were Vampires, “Allowing him to drink from you will make you physically weak. Drink some juice when you get home.” He paused, and then added against my forehead, “You’re lucky it was us who found you.” One more peck on my forehead, a slow nod to King Venclaire, and he was marching away to where his car must have been, but I couldn’t see it from here.

King Venclaire watched him go and, when King Kincaid was a good distance from us, he turned his attention back to Ezra and me, bending and placing his forearms on the windowsill, hands hanging inside my Hummer, and said quietly, “He’s purposefully ignoring a few key factors, giving him plausible deniability. Number one: Pearl was the only one who offered that day, and that’s not the case now with a whole school full of willing donors available not a hundred feet away. Number two: You’re in Lily’s car, instead of inside King Hall. And, not only that, but Lily’s car is parked in a different location than it was when we first arrived. Number three and the most important, in my humble opinion: Lily’s not dazed or dizzy, and Ezra, you were done when we arrived since your face is flushed, meaning you were not, indeed, thirsty.” He folded his hands together, and stared. Waiting.

We sat silent. There was nothing safe to say.

“Well? Have I done the impossible? Rendered the two of you mute?” His mouth opened wide in mock shock when we stayed quiet. “Oh, I do believe I deserve a cookie. I’ve made the impossible, miraculously, possible. This is assuredly a monumental day. Perhaps hell has frozen over. Or, maybe,” he glanced up at the blue sky, “pigs have taken flight.” He clapped his hands once, smiling at us. “This would be the perfect occasion to use my new camera phone and take your picture together.” His smile widened. “I’d title the photo: Up Shit Creek Without a Paddle.” His head cocked, grin gone. “Does that sound about right?”

I swallowed hard. His brand of interrogation was a hell of a lot different than King Kincaid’s. Whereas King Kincaid was physically in your face, King Venclaire — my biological dad — was a cunning smartass chock-full of clichés to use when people were that stupid. It was actually a bit more frightening than the frontal assaults I was used to. My hands were clenched on my shirt, and Ezra had silently maneuvered an arm behind me. I think he was ready to chuck me out the other door, so I could make a run for it if needed.

However, our worrying was for nothing because King Venclaire was on the wrong track. His face turned deathly serious, and he stated, “Now, as King I’m not supposed to say this, so I’m not. If you ever claim I had this conversation with either of you, I will deny it, and you’ll be named liars.” That implication was clear since we had dealt with that subject today. “Right now, I’m speaking with you both as a regular Mys, not a Ruler. Although, almost all Mysticals would, also, never say this to you, but since I’m just that special, I will.”

He cleared his throat, and then spoke ever so softly, “If you two are going to partake in sexual acts together,” oh my God, “you need to be more circumspect. I mean, really, Ezra. The school parking lot? Even if Lily was Vampire, not Shifter, don’t you know better than this? You two are going to be King and Queen to your people, and you know the Mys communities don’t…mingle. If this keeps up, for any length of time, you need to keep it private. No one, including your guards, should ever know. It will undermine the way your subjects feel about you, even if it’s none of their damn business.”

He opened his hands wide. “And this, young Prodigies, is not private or circumspect. You are out in the open with, more than likely, students spying out of their classroom windows, guards watching behind their tinted glass, and anyone walking by.”

He stalled, eyebrows together, then pointed with both index fingers, one for each of us. “Also, I feel obligated to remind you that when you have sex, it needs to be protected. I know sometimes having a condom on hand can be forgotten, and in that circumstance, you need to abstain. Our Law is brutal for children born of mixed Mys breeding. I would never want you two to be placed in that situation.” He folded his hands together again, and went silent. Done.

Uh.

My brain was numbed dumb as I stared. Neither I, nor Ezra, had moved a centimeter during his — my biological dad’s — gross sex talk. I was seriously struck stupid. I didn’t know what to say to that, since if we argued that we weren’t together, he would go back to the original issue of why we were in the back of my Hummer when there were a crap load of donors inside the school. We weren’t going anywhere near that one.

“I really should take a picture of this,” King Venclaire mumbled under his breath, glancing back and forth between us. Then, he really went overboard, appearing thoughtful as he asked, “Are there any questions you two have about sex between Mys factions? There are many differences between Shifters and Vampires.”

My cheeks flamed. My mind wasn’t cooperating with my mouth, so I just shook my head. Same as Ezra. That was, in some measure, a response, and I prayed it was enough to shut him up. This man was still my biological dad, even if he didn’t know it. Sex was not something I ever would have discussed with my mom, much less a dad that didn’t know I existed.

“Well, then,” King Venclaire murmured, clapping his hands in finality. “I think I’m done speaking for myself and King Kincaid.” He paused, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. “That was what that little look was about. He’s no fool, but since I’m somewhat more open, he elected me to have this conversation with the two of you.” A push away from the door and he stood straight, placing his hands in his pockets. “If you two ever do need to talk, my door is always open.”